Live show hypeman and the official hypeman for Stonebwoy, Ogee the MC says the artist-hypeman pairing, now common on Ghanaian stages, was once misunderstood by local audiences.
In a recent appearance on 3Music, he shared how his early attempts to introduce the format were met with criticism. “We didn’t use to have artists with hypemen till I started something like that,” he said. “Still, Ghanaians used to cook me on it.”
He pointed to his time with the late Ebony Reigns as the beginning of this style. At the time, his presence on stage alongside artists drew online backlash. “People were bashing me for either coming on stage before the artist or even being on stage with the artist,” he said.
The turning point, he noted, came during a Ghana Meets Naija event. “Tiwa Savage came on stage with her own hypeman. The guy did his thing. After that, I saw people referencing me to that moment,” Ogee recalled.
For Ogee The MC, it highlighted how unfamiliarity can shape public opinion. “When Ghanaians don’t know about something or have little understanding, they’ll go ahead and trash it till they see it being done elsewhere,” he said.
Today, the artist-hypeman dynamic is more accepted, producing stars like Kojo Manuel, Influence, and Jonny Stone, among other notable names. Ogee The MC has gone on to be largely recognized as one of its early champions in Ghana.
